Mower buncher attachment.



J. A. OLIVER.

MOWER BUNGHER ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED 00131. 1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

O S y e. n r. O

t t A J. A. OLIVER. MOWER BUNOHER ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.31. 1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

- 2 SHEETBSHEET 2.

Jam, all

Witnesses 74% COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' JOE A. OLIVER, 0F SENECA, NEBRASKA.

MOWER BUNCHER ATTACHMENT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jon A. Onnnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seneca, in the county of Thomas and State of Nebraska, haveinvented a new and useful Mower Buncher Attachment, of which thefollowing is a specification.

'This invention relates to mower buncher attachments and consists in thenovel construction and arrangement of its parts as hereinafter shown anddescribed.

The object of the invention is to provide for a mower an attachment uponwhich the grass as it is cut is accumulated and providing means foroperating the attachment whereby the said grass may be permitted to fallfrom the mower attachment in bunches at suitable intervals apart.

With this object in view the attachment includes a bar which is adaptedto be applied to the finger bar of the mower and to which are pivotallyattached the forward ends of slats. A retaining member is pivotallyconnected at its ends to the runner and the grass divider at the outerend of the finger bar and normally lies over the rear end portions ofsome of the said slats. Means are provided for raising and lowering theattachment as the finger bar is raised and lowered and also a levermechanism is provided for swinging the said retaining member upon itspivot whereby the accumulated grass may be permitted to pass from thebuncher attachment.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portionof a mower with the attachment applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view through the finger bar of the mower showing a portion ofthe attachment applied thereto. Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of aportion of a mower and a portion of the attachment. Fig. 4 is asectional view of a portion of the mower showing a portion of theattachment in side elevation. Fig. 5 is a det-aihperspective view of aportion of the attachment. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional viewof a portion of the attachment cut on the line 66 of Fig. 1. r

The mower to which the attachment is applied may be of any of theapproved forms now generally in use and as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings the frame of the mower is indicated at 1, therunner at 2, the axle at 3 and one of the supporting traction wheels at4. The inner end of a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 31, 1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

Serial No. 590,032.

finger bar 5 is attached to the runner 2 in the usual manner and a grassdivider 6 is mounted at the outer end of the said finger bar. The fingerbar carries suitable guards together with a knife bar having blades butas these parts do not cooperate with the present invention a descriptionof the same is not given here. Hooks 7 are pivotally located under thefinger bar 5 and receive a bar 8 to which is pivotally attached theforward ends of the slats 9. The bar 8 and the forward ends of the slats9 are located under the finger bar 5 and consequently do not present anyobstruction to the passage of grass from the finger bar upon the saidslats. Throughout the series of slats each alternate slat is longer thanthe intermediate or adjacent slat and an approximately U-shapedretaining member 10 is pivotally connected at its ends to the runner 2and the grass divider 6 and the intermediate portion of the saidretaining member 10 is adapted to rest upon the ends of the longer slatsof the series of slats 9 while the alternate or intermediate slats ofthe said series terminate short of the said retaining member 10. Therear end portions of all of the slats 9 are slightly turned in an upwarddirection, and the retaining member 10 .at its upper and lower edges isrounded in outward and rearward directions as at 11. The object of thisrounding upon the part of the said retaining member is to strengthen thestructure.

A bolt 12 is mounted upon the axle 3 and at one end is connected with anangularly disposed arm 13 which extends transversely urfder the saidaxle 3 and is in the form of a hollow pipe with its rear end portionconnected with a brace 14 which is in turn pivotally connected at itsforward end with the intermediate portion of the said a'xle 3 asindicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. A brace or truss rod 15 isconnected at its forward end with the bolt 12 and at its rear endportion passes through an opening ltrprovided in the upper side of thearm 13 and projects at its rear end portion beyond the rear end of thesaid arm 13. A lever 17 is provided at its lower end with a hook portion18 through which the projecting end portion of the rod 15 passes. Awasher 19 is located upon the projecting end portion of the rod 15between the end of the arm 13 and the forward side of the hook portion18 of the lever 17 and a sleeve 20 is located upon the projecting endportion of the rod 15 and fits snugly in the opening in the oppositeside portions of the hook portion 18 of the said lever 17. One

end of the sleeve 20 bears against the face of the washer 19 and awasher 21 located upon the projecting end portion of therod 15 bearsagainst the outer end of the I 18 of the lever 17 and is journaled uponthe sleeve 20. A rod 24 is connected at one end of the upper portion ofthe lever 17 and at its other end with the outer portion of the liftingarm 23. A link 25 is pivotally connected at its upper end with the outerend of the lifting arm 23 and at its lower end portion the said link 25is provided with a transversely disposed pin 26 which is hingedlymounted in a member 27'. The member 27 is pivotally mounted upon apintle 28 or its equivalent which is mounted upon the intermediateportion of the box member 10 and at the forward side thereof, wherebythe said hinge member 27 may swing laterally of the said pivot 28. Thelink 25 is provided at its lower end with a lug 29 which is adapted attimes to bear against the forward surface of the hinged member 27 andlimit the downward swing of the upper end portion of the said link 25.

Bythis arrangement it will be seen that when the lever mechanism (notshown),

I on. l/Vhen a sufficient quantity of grass has been accumulated againstthe forward side of the retaining member 10 and upon the upper surfacesof the said slats,the operator swings the lever 17 which through theconnecting rod 24: will swing the lifting arm 23 upon its pivotalsupport and through the link 25 and hinge member 27, the rear endportion of the retaining member 10 is swung "the stubble upon thesurface of the ground as the mower moves in a forward direction. Afterthe buncher attachment has been relieved of the material as indicated,the operator releases his grasp upon the lever 17, and the said levertogether with its attachment falls by gravity and the retaining member10 assumes its normal position over the rear end portions of the slats9. By reason of the fact that the link 25 is limited in its downwardswinging movement by the stops 29 the outer end portion of the liftingarm 23 is at all times held above the upper edge of the retaining member10, and consequently will not become entangled with the grass as itaccumulates upon the upper rear portions of the slats 9.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire-to secureby Letters Patent is:

A buncher adapted to be applied to a mower consisting of spaced slatsconnected with the mower, a retaining member pivotally connected withthe mower and resting on the slats, a hollow arm rigidly attached at itsforward end to the mower frame at a point in advance of the axle andextending rearwardly undertthe axle, a truss rod connected at itsforward end with the frame and extending rearwardly transversely overthe axle and projecting into the hollow arm through an opening providedin the rear end of said arm, and at its rear end projecting beyond theend of said arm, a lever fulcrumed upon the projecting end portion ofsaid truss rod, means for securing the truss Copies of this patent maybe obtained. for f'five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ofPatents,

, Washington, D. G.

